Now Commenting On:

Wedge weighing options on Ichiro

Wedge weighing options on Ichiro

Ichiro Suzuki

By
/
|

ARLINGTON -- For the second day in a row, Mariners manager Eric Wedge was asked Tuesday if he might move Ichiro Suzuki out of the No. 3 spot in the batting order if the team continues struggling to produce runs.

And this time Wedge acknowledged that "obviously it's something you have to consider" as his club is on a five-game losing streak and ranks 13th of 14 American League teams in scoring with Ichiro hitting in his new lineup position.

But the issue is two-pronged for Wedge, since no one else on the Mariners is stepping up offensively to fill the No. 3 hole if he does make a move.

"You've got to have a solution to it, too," Wedge said. "I'm always considering almost everything. I weigh everything out. I look at our options, the timing, I try to stay consistent with my thought process on all our guys. But the fact of the matter is you have to open yourself up to what you feel ultimately is best for the ballclub and best for the player. So for me, everything is on the table right now."

As to what he likes about Ichiro batting third and why he's maintained that position even while changing around the other players at the top of the order?

"It's just a matter of giving him as much time as I feel like we need to give him," Wedge said. "And also you have to take into consideration who is going to be your three-hole hitter, who is going to hit fourth? All that enters into it."